In the hydraulic tire curing press disclosed in Singh et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,536, entitled "Hydraulic Tire Press", side-by-side mold cavities each included upper and lower cavity parts for top and bottom mold sections. The upper cavity parts were supported beneath the outer ends of a relatively small shallow V-shaped beam which was mounted for movement on a single column and powered by a relatively long stroke fluid or hydraulic piston-cylinder assembly positioned in vertical alignment with the center of gravity of the upper cavity parts and beam. The lower cavity part was formed in a base with which the upper cavity part was mechanically locked by a rotating bayonet ring when the press was closed. Hydraulic clamps comprising four relatively short stroke large hydraulic piston-cylinder assemblies were positioned beneath the bottom mold section in the base and were extended to move and forceably hold the bottom mold section against the top mold section when the upper cavity part was mechanically locked to the base. An important aspect of this press was the protection of the hydraulic clamping fluid from the heat of the curing operation which overcame a problem plaguing prior attempts to develop a hydraulic press.